Wall Street Stocks Slide Amid Inflation Concerns and Middle East Tensions

Stocks on Wall Street dipped on Tuesday as investors remained concerned about potential inflation and ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.18%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.58% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.32%. This decline comes amid a resurgence in inflation, which has caused bond yields to surge to multi-year highs.

The European Central Bank is expected to raise euro zone rates by a quarter point on Thursday this week, while the chances of the Bank of Japan doing the same next week are intensifying. The yen's gain looms large for global markets as traders have borrowed it to fund purchases of higher-yielding assets across currencies, bonds, and equities.

Oil prices climbed after Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen attacked Saudi energy facilities. Brent crude oil was up 2.13% to $99.07 a barrel, while U.S. crude jumped 2.82% to $94.05 a barrel. The price of copper also hit a record high on Tuesday as global supply tightened.